Ripley’s Return

In the not-quite-five months since he ostensibly retired from composing his monthly “Getting Away with Murder” column for the Webzine Shots, British critic/author/raconteur Mike Ripley has launched an occasional series of “Ripster Revivals.” He says these are “essays featuring books—crime novels and thrillers—which I have been meaning to read, or re-read for, though I hate to say it, up to fifty years or more.” His inaugural “Revivals” piece, in November, looked back at the award-winning works of Peter Dickinson, while his December entry showcased David Dodge.

But, as I suspected might happen, Ripley doesn’t seem quite content with the laggardly pace of retirement. Recently, he donned his columnist’s chapeau again to deliver a “special” edition of GAWM. Therein, he recalls his installation, in 2003, as a crime-fiction reviewer for the Birmingham Post; remarks upon a 1960s set of James Bond-ish novels starring “Hebrew Secret Agent Oy-Oy-7”; and laments the delayed English-language release of Lunapark, the sixth book in Volker Kutscher’s “Babylon Berlin” series. Ripley also presents his top picks of 2023’s works for crime and thriller fans:

• Moscow Exile, by John Lawton (Grove Press)
• Small Mercies, by Dennis Lehane (Abacus)
• All the Sinners Bleed, by S.A. Cosby (Headline)
• Ozark Dogs, by Eli Cranor (Headline)
• A Line in the Sand, by Kevin Powers (Sceptre)
• Viper’s Dream, by Jake Lamar (No Exit Press)
• Calico, by Lee Goldberg (Severn House)
• Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy,
by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury)
• Big Bear, Little Bear, by David Brierley (Brash)
• Cold War, by David Brierley (Brash)

* * *

Speaking of favored crime novels from last year, several more selections of those have lately appeared, from Lesa Holstine, Louise Fairbairn, Lori N. Lutes, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, and Michael Popple.